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In the current session, 2001-02, local authorities receive funding at the rate of £1,254 for a fully loaded part-time pre-school education place. They are free to top slice this level to meet the costs of services provided to their partner providers. The minimum recommended level for the purchase of places in the voluntary and private sector is £900.

Susan Deacon announced on 19 September 2001, an allocation of an additional £90 million for the NHS in Scotland. Using these resources, seven trusts had their financial deficits written off in this financial year (2001-02).The following amounts were applied against the cumulative deficits of NHS trusts:

	£000
Argyll & Clyde Acute	3,035
Renfrewshire & Inverclyde PCT	1,077
Grampian Acute	4,914
North Glasgow Acute	9,491
South Glasgow Acute	4,092
Highland Acute	2,744
Tayside Acute	15,852
Total	41,205

The contract was published on the Scottish Prison Service website (www.sps.gov.uk) on 8 March 2002.

Western Isles Islands Council lost £23 million following the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International. Since there was no immediate prospect of recovering the money and no chance of continuing to be in a position to discharge its statutory obligations without revenue borrowing, the council wrote to the Secretary of State in August 1991 requesting special borrowing consent to replace the £23 million. Exceptionally, on account of the scale of the loss in relation to the council's total financial resources, the Secretary of State granted the council consent to borrow in terms of paragraph 1(2) of schedule 3 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975 to make good the shortfall and maintain its day-to-day cash flow requirements during the remainder of 1991-92. Since the loss was consequent on ultra vires investment activity, the terms of the consent specified that the interest and repayment costs of the borrowing must be met entirely by the council without any grant aid or other financial assistance from the Government.

Nineteen applicants were ineligible because they had a working central heating system and one applicant had not occupied the house for the required 12 months. The remaining 23 was made up of those who had not returned their application forms to EAGA at the time the earlier question was asked. All of those applications have now been processed and qualify for grant. Many have now received their package of measures.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-22325.

The Local Government Spending Review 2000 provides an extra £1.2 billion in support for local government over three years - an increase in real terms of 10.5%. It is the Scottish Executive's view that this should enable all local authorities to provide the necessary support for all women's refuges. It is therefore the responsibility of Scottish Borders Council to allocated funding according to its priorities. The National Group on Domestic Abuse, which I chair, will be looking at funding for service provision as part of its future work programme.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-22571.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-22569.

It is entirely a matter for each local authority to establish its expenditure priorities within the budget available to it. It would not be appropriate for ministers to intervene in the individual spending decisions of a council.